Episode 98: Neil Brown

Dan and Ellen talk with Neil Brown, a longtime journalist who is the president of the Poynter Institute. For listeners who might not know, the Poynter Institute is a nonprofit based in St. Petersburg, Florida, that is devoted to teaching best practices in journalism. It is named for Nelson Poynter, the bow-tie-wearing legend who led the St. Petersburg Times to national recognition. The paper is now known as the Tampa Bay Times.

Poynter is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Dan has a Quick Take on President Trump’s bouncing tariffs. They’re on, they’re off, they’re on, they’re off. But his gyrations are having real consequences. In central New York State, Trump’s threats have killed a daily newspaper — and not just any paper. The Cortland Standard, one of the oldest family-owned papers in the country, folded in mid-March, as Trump’s proposed 25% tariff on Canadian newsprint proved to be the last straw.

Ellen's Quick Take comes from a tip from Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of the New York Times who is a distinguished professor of the practice here at Northeastern.

Jeff Morrison, a journalist who is a member of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative, has compiled an incredible timeline of the decline of newspapers in Iowa. A highlight: The Storm Lake Times Pilot, a twice-weekly print paper featured in our book, "What Works in Community News," is dropping a print edition and going weekly.